1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the information processing field. More particularly, the invention relates to browser programs.
2. Background of the Related Art
Computer networks were developed to allow multiple computers to communicate with each other. In general, a network can include a combination of hardware and software that cooperate to facilitate the desired communications. One example of a computer network is the Internet, a sophisticated worldwide network of computer system resources.
Networks, such as the Internet, require a network browser to enable navigation between network addresses. A browser is an application program or facility that normally resides on a user's workstation and which is invoked when the user decides to access network addresses. A prior art Internet browser program typically accesses a given network address according to a uniform resource locator (URL), i.e., an addressing format. In addition to forwarding and receiving data to and from the network, the browser also processes each type of data which is presented to it. State-of-the-art browsers provide a complete multimedia experience, including video, pictures, 3-D images, sounds and the like.
In addition, browsers provide useful features which facilitate management of the voluminous information encountered by users while browsing. For example, most commercially available Internet browsers (e.g., Netscape's Navigator and Windows' Explorer) provide a history folder containing recently visited network addresses (e.g., web sites) and a bookmark folder to which a user can store network addresses for future retrieval.
In order to accommodate the particular preferences of multiple users, some aspects of browsers are customizable. For example, browsers often include one or more toolbars, e.g., personal toolbars. Some aspects of such toolbars are configurable by the user. Other configurable features include the colors, fonts, display attributes and the like.
In today's pervasive computer environment it is not uncommon for a user to navigate a network from more than one browser program, each located on a different computer. As a result, the browsers used by a single user may have different configurations, settings and other related browser information. Currently, the only method or system available to remedy this condition is for a user to manually reconfigure each browser. Such a procedure is undesirable because of the time involved and the possibility for errors in attempting to synchronize some or all of the browser settings and related information.
Therefore, there is a need for a method, apparatus and article of manufacture to facilitate the configuration of browsers.